Editorial Still Life: Victorian Mourning Jewelry

This shoot is a Victorian take on the element of earth. Death and ritualized public mourning was a large part of the Victorian culture. Queen Victoria influenced people to wear their grief and display it loudly, and mourning jewelry was a unique and elaborate way of doing this.
This take on the element of earth was to take these pieces of mourning jewelry and put them in the dirt, the same way an individual would have been laid to rest. Pieces of lace were incorporated to further emphasize the atmosphere of the era.
The goal was to create a moody and sorrowful feeling in order to reflect the innate significance of wearing mourning jewelry.